Everything Changes
by EsophagealEruption
Summary: An undefined amount of time in the life of Mai Kujaku! Because... the voices told me to. This story on a kind of..Hiatus.
1. Prologue

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**********

Mai Kujaku had always been complimented on her looks. Mostly her breasts, but there were a few who serenaded her legs, eyes, pouty smile...But most of the time..

"Nice jugs, sweetheart."

"Mm, honey, so, how are my lovely sweater puppies?"

"Your milkshake will always bring me to the yard."

"Toot toot!"

"Your breasts arouse me."

And so on..

And so on..

And. So. ON.

And it was so, so annoying.

Although Mai had always lived by her mother's words of honor - "If you've got it, baby, flaunt it, flaunt it, because there ain't no tellin' what world'a good it does ya, promise, promise, sweetiecakes."

Ugh. What false words. She could hardly get a date this way, because apparently, as much skin as she showed, it just wasn't gonna work.

So, she quit dueling, she quit wearing provocative clothes and she moved to a different area, got a job as a secretary and left it at that.

In the four years since she had last seen anyone she knew, Varon, Jounouchi, Tristian, she forgot some of the others, Varon, Jounouchi, Tr- wait a moment...

She had changed all of her looks entirely. Well, not entirely, but dramatically.

Where she wore her hair wild and free, it was combed and tied back.

Where she had worn thick, double-layered eyeliner, eyeshadow, more eyeshadow, mascara double-coated, she wore a light layer of liner, a nude-color eyeshadow with just a bit of glitter, and one, short, swift stroke of mascara per eye.

Her lips were lined and looked a bit smaller because of it, she wore a button-up blouse that was striped and pale, with a dark blue blazer cropped jacket over it. A wide belt, straight-cut dress jeans, and black flats. All this compared to her previous risqué appearance...Her coworkers would have not known that the Mai Kujaku THEN could ever possibly be the Mai Kujaku now.

It was that drastic.

Mai came to be a totally different person – meeker, quieter, less wild in general, than she had been. Now, at 28, she had no idea what she would do with her life – she hadn't seen a man's bed in years, hadn't slept with a man since her and Varon had that little fling five years ago, and she was single. She had money, she had a home, she had a car, she had..She had no one to share it with.

But dammit to if she didn't have her pride, and some days, that was all that really mattered to her.

***********

P:

End Prologue.

New chapter in seven days.


	2. Chapter 1

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Enjoy.

Live.

* * *

Sunshine filtered in through the blinds, through the small crack in Mai Kujaku's thick, lavender curtains. A sliver of sunshine slowly moved from her pillow, to her cheek, to her closed eyes. Then she rolled over, ignoring the light.

Suddenly, a scream rang out, interrupting [rudely] the tranquil atmosphere of Mai's room. Immediately, she sat straight up and nearly screamed herself, before remembering that the terrible scream was her alarm clock. She'd forgotten that she had purchased a new one yesterday since the other one had broken. She sighed, glaring at the demonic thing, and fumbled for the off switch. Consequently, she turned the volume up even more, and winced at the amount of decibels.

"Jesus _Christ_," she muttered, and finally found the off switch.

Yawning, she swung her pajama-clad legs over the edge of the bed, and slipped her feet into her favoritest, fuzziest, pinkest slippers. She stood up, stretched, and shuffled out of her room.

"Morning, Arcadian," she said, as her dog barked at her happily.

The blond pushed open the door to her kitchen, Arcadian at her heels, licking his chops expectantly.

Immediately, he ran over to his food bowl, sliding some across the smooth tile. Mai laughed, and picked up his bowl.

"Oh, my puppy is hungwy, isn't he? Hm?" she asked, pouring Bits 'N' Kibbles into his blue plastic bowl. She set it back down, and he attacked it viciously, chowing down enthusiastically.

"Aww, someone was hungwy, huh?" the lavender-eyed woman asked, rubbing her black lab's neck lovingly.

She stood, and prepared her own breakfast – a two-egg omelet with green and red peppers, Monterey Jack and Colby cheese, and torn up pieces of a slice of ham, toast and strawberry jam, a glass of orange juice, and a handful of mixed nuts and dried tropical fruits. Wh-hoo balanced breakfast! She flipped open her laptop computer as she sat down with her breakfast at her dining room table. She checked her e-mail, her MySpace and Facebook pages, and her stock, relishing her sweet, sweet Saturday-morning leisure time.

"I wonder if the paper boy's been by yet?" she wondered aloud, closing her webpages. Paper boy was a nice kid - about twelve or so. She always tipped him extra on weekends, and had a feeling that was why her windows weren't broken like some misers down the road.

She shut her computer down, and sipped down the last few drops of orange juice from her crystalline glass.

After carrying her dishes to the sink and rinsing them off, leaving them in the dishwasher for later, she went outside, to her front porch. The paper boy had his arm raised, about to toss the paper, but he stopped when he saw her. Mai squinted. He looked..Different, today, somehow..

"Oh! Hey, Miss," the young man said, smiling as he turned and cycled to her front step, "How are you?"

"Doing quite alright," she said, smiling, "And yourself?"

"Oh, I suppose I'm doing alright. Haru was sick today, so I took his place," the male said, and Mai noticed he was older than she'd first thought – at least twenty four, she'd say. Definitely not the normal paper boy.

"Ah, I see...Is Haru your younger brother?" the blond asked, eying the newcomer interestedly.

"Yeah, he is...Is the resemblance remarkable?"

"Well...I don't know him well," Mai admitted, "But he seems sweet enough. He usually hands me my paper as I leave for the office."

"Oh, so you work in town?" the man asked, leaning forward and resting his head on his hands, elbows on the handlebars.

Mai smiled as she responded, "Yes, I work in the Okama Game System Building. Do you work in the area?"

"Actually," the man said, brushing a strand of chestnut-colored hair to the side, "I do. At the Angel's Hearts Hospital, just down the way. Perhaps we could meet on break sometime, at that coffee shop on 2nd West Main?"

"The Careless Café? Sure," the blond replied, allowing her gaze to slip to his well-developed arms, "Let me run in and grab a pen."

"Oh, here," the blue-eyed man said, and swiftly pulled out a slim phone, and placed it in her hands, "that way there's no chance of me losing the paper."

The tall woman smiled, and programmed her number into his phone, "Smart," she commented.

The man grinned sheepishly, "I try."

"So, hon, what's your name?" she asked, handing him the phone back.

"Hatsumi Katsuya, m'lady," he said, tucking the phone into his blue jeans, "And yours?"

She pushed back a stray blond hair.

"Kujaku Mai," she said, and offered her hand.

"My pleasure," the dark-haired man said lowly, taking her hand.

They shook, and Mai felt a slight blush begin to creep across her face – he had a nicely defined upper body, and the sleek black tee he wore left little to the imagination. Firm shake, nice forearms...

"I'll call you later this week," the man said, winking.

The man cycled away, waving as he went to the next house.

Mai waved, and looked down at her empty hands. She'd forgotten to get the paper.

----------

Kujaku Mai smiled, admiring herself in the shop mirror.

After the encounter this morning with Hatsumi Katsuya, she'd felt unusually...Bright. She decided that she'd go out, have a nice lunch, do some shopping, catch up with herself.

She'd called Miaki and Mukuro, her two closest lady friends from the office, but Miaki had a date and Mukuro had her daughter this weekend. So, she went alone.

The blond tucked away a strand of sunshine-colored hair, and turned to the left, wondering if the skirt was too short. Turned right, and wondered if the wavy-necked blouse showed too much cleavage. Regardless, the pink, black, and white stripes design on the top made her waistline look waspy and hourglass-like, and the skirt's pleats, she thought, brought out the fullness of her hips. Her nicer pair of black low heels, she thought, would show off her toned legs nicely.

"Wow, you pull off that look really well!" the sales rep said, looking at her admiringly.

Mai turned around, facing the rep. She seemed oddly familiar.

The rep flashed a cheery smile, holding up a black leather purse, "You left this in the changing room, one of the ladies said?"

Mai smiled, "Yeah, thanks," there was a slight pause, and Mai scrutinized the woman more closely.

Blue eyes, a good hourglass-like figure, legs made for dancing, seemingly good fashion sense...Her hair was waist-length, but she was pretty sure...

"Mazaki Anzu?" she asked, not thinking to look at the reps' nametag.

"Yeah!" The woman exclaimed, slightly taken aback, "How'd you know?"

The blond woman released her hair from the tie it'd been in, and rumpled it up a bit.

"I might not be wearing enough make-up," she started, but was interrupted by a swift hug.

"Mai! Sweetheart, how have you been? It's been what, five years?" the younger woman excitedly proclaimed, "Wow, honey, you have not aged a bit!"

"Haha, and what's that supposed to mean?" Mai joked, and gave Anzu the quick one-two, "You're not lookin' bad yourself, sugar, how are things?"

"Oh, you know," Anzu said, twirling a strand of hair between her fingers, "Not much, just working...Making a living, not much.."

"Oh, come on, it's been four years! You have to have done something," Mai said, "So tell me, when does your shift end? We have some catching up to do.."

Anzu smiled, and checked her watch, "Well, I'm not supposed to get off until seven or eight tonight, but Kaoru can cover for me," she released the strand of hair and started to walk away, calling over her shoulder, "I'll be back in ten minutes!"

-----------

Mai sipped at a glass of sweet red wine, waiting for Anzu to get back from the ladies' room. The server appeared, set down a basket of bread sticks, gave Mai a quick smile and assured her that the meals were nearly ready. Mai thanked the young man as he walked off.

"So!" Anzu said, taking her seat, "Where were we?"

"Well, I had just told you that I'm working as Mr. Muramoto's secretary at Okama, I wasn't seeing anyone, and telling you about my home."

"Oh, right! And you have a dog, Arcadian?" Anzu asked, gracefully plucking a bread stick from the basket.

"Right. So, what have you been doing?"

"Well," Anzu drawled lightly, "A lot, really...What do you want to know first?"

Mai thought for a moment before replying.

"Well, I know you work at the mall..."

"Only part-time," Anzu cut in, albeit politely, "I own the Careless Café downtown, but I want to branch out, so I let one of my more loyal employees take care of the place while I scope out some potential areas for the new stores. I'm just working at the mall for extra income....And the employee's discount is nice, too."

Mai nodded approvingly.

"Tell you the truth, I'd be broke in a week or two if I worked there," the blond commented, and took a bread stick for herself. She bit into one, contemplating her next question.

"Hey, these are pretty good! A bit heavy on the oregano, though," the older woman said, "So, how's your relationship life going? Still seeing that little boy from high school? I forget his name, but...He was a good kid."

"Yuugi?" the brunette asked, taking another bite of her own bread stick, "Well, we went steady for the longest, even after high school, but...I guess it wasn't meant to be. We were too good of friends..."

"Oh, well, at least you gained a friend, right?" Mai asked, dipping her bread stick in complimentary marinara sauce, trying it.

"True," Anzu said, then hesitated, "But I am seeing someone else now."

"That's good, how long have you been seeing them? Oh, here, try the marinara, it's absolutely delish," Anzu's elder commented, pushing the small bowl in her direction.

Anzu sampled it before continuing.

"Ooh, that is good!" she said, and licked a spot off of her lips, "We've been seeing one another for about a year and a half. You might know the guy."

"Oh, really?"

Anzu noticeably hesitated, and the waiter suddenly appeared next to the table as she opened her mouth to respond.

"Your meals, ladies," he said, "Asparagus and shrimp risotto for you," the man set down a plate in front of Anzu, "And chicken and gnocchi veronese for you," he set down a plate in front of Mai, "And, can I get you ladies anything else?"

"Mm, no, this looks fantastic! Do you need anything, Mai?" Anzu asked, picking up the fork from the napkin bunch.

"Oh, no, I'm fine, thank you, though," the blond said, picking up her fork, as well.

The women ate in silence for a few minutes.

Mai stabbed at a shell of gnocchi, placed it in her mouth and chewed on the potato-based pasta for a moment, wondering why Mai had been so open, and then the hesitation...Maybe she was seeing someone embarrassing, like that blue-haired, bug-eyed twerp...

"Mm...Delicious. It's been such a long time since I've had Italian," Mai commented, "Well, actual Italian. Instant spaghetti and macaroni not counted."

Anzu laughed, dabbing at her lips femininely with her napkin, "Same, here, really, with kids, macaroni and ramen are all they want!"

Mai dropped her fork in surprise.

"You have children?" she asked, incredulously, "That's wonderful! How many?"

Anzu rubbed the back of her head sheepishly, "Three..."

Mai leaned forward, "Wow. That's..."

"Unexpected?" the brunette said, reaching for her purse. She pulled out her pocketbook, opening to the section where thin plastic straps held photos.

The first was a picture of a baby with huge eyes, exactly like Yuugi's, only they were blue, a deep shade of azure not even Anzu could match. Its hair was black, but it looked as though it were tinted with plum. It was wearing pink, so Anzu assumed it was a girl.

"Her name's Mizuru, she's Yuugi's baby," Anzu explained before flipping to the next one.

There were two little ones in blue onesies, and Mizuru, about two in this one, was smiling broadly and touching their heads. One had brown eyes, and the other had blue eyes, though not nearly as blue as the first child's. Both were dark-haired, brown, probably.

"Those are Suro and Mori," Anzu said, a touch of sentiment in her voice, "they were born five weeks too early...They're Honda's children."

"Honda?" Mai asked uncertainly, "Hiroto Honda?"

"Yeah," Anzu said, looking at her children lovingly, and she flipped to the next section. It was a picture of her and Honda, smiling happily. Anzu was glowing, the white wedding dress was gorgeous. Honda looked sharp, too, and had his arm around her. Mizuru was barely in the picture, hanging off of a black tuxedo arm, reaching for her mom.

"You look wonderful together," Mai said, not mentioning Mizuru's presence in the picture. She looked at Anzu's left hand, and noticed the thin ring, a small diamond set in it. Wondered how she'd missed it.

Anzu flipped again.

Honda was on the left, his arm around-

"Katsuya was his best man, of course," Anzu said, laughing a little, "They're never apart, even now, they talk almost every day."

Honda was laughing, arm around Jounouchi's shoulders. Jounouchi was grinning lightly, holding Mizuru. There was upchuck on his shoulder, but Mizuru was giddy, too, it seemed.

"He's really good with 'Zu-chan...He's practically been her godfather since she was born," Anzu explained, and flipped to the next page.

Honda wearing an apron, looking exasperated, Mizuru on his back and cake batter on his face, a weary, yet happy smile on his face.

Flip.

Mizuru, swinging, Jounouchi pushing her, Honda holding one of the twins, Anzu holding the other.

Flip.

Yuugi, not clean-shaven anymore but cutely bearded, his face squished together humorously as Mizuru squished his face together.

Jounouchi in a similar situation on the next card.

Honda in a similar situation on the next card.

Anzu, in the same funny pose on the next card.

"She likes squishing faces, doesn't she?" Mai asked, laughing.

Anzu grinned, and put the pocketbook away, answering as she did so, "Yeah, she does...She's so silly... She just loves to laugh, and smile, and she is just a doll, just like her father."

Mai smiled, and took a bite of her dinner. She felt awkward now. The brunette had a husband, kids, two jobs, and yet she still seemed so young, taut, and just the same as before. The blond had changed her entire life, practically, and the only thing that had changed were the comments made about her in public. She felt the slow burn of jealousy in her stomach, and tried to push it away with the Italian.

--------

"Well, hon, it was fantastic seeing you today, here, let me give you my number, maybe we can get together sometime?"

"Sure, sure, let me get my phone, I'll just program you in now...I would love for you to come over sometime and meet the kids. Honda would be thrilled to see you, as I'm sure Yuugi and Rebecca and Katsuya and Ryou and..Well, you know!" Anzu said, and pulled out a slim, pink phone.

Mai produced hers, and the women exchanged devices.

"Wow, this is a nice phone! How much was it?" Anzu said, after programming her number in.

"I don't really remember," Mai said, handing Anzu her phone back, I bought it on impulse.."

The women laughed, and Anzu unlocked her minivan. Mai admired the flower hubcap covers, and the daisy seat covers on the interior. The back held three car seats, various toys and cups and snacks. A cutesy chaos.

Mai climbed into her own vehicle, a sleek, silver little thing that got great speed. It seated two.

Each waved, and drove their own ways.

---------

Mai unlocked her front door, and Arcadian barked a greeting, dashing up to the door to meet her.

"Hey, hey, Arcadian, how's muh baby? Hmm? I brought you a treat! Do you want a treat? Hm?" she cooed, closing the door as she entered.

She walked to the kitchen, setting her shopping bags down, and grabbing the fast food bag. She pulled out a box, orange, that read "DQPC; It's the way to go." She opened it and set it on the floor. Arcadian attacked the sandwich mercilessly, and the blond rolled her eyes, and grabbed her bags, set on putting them away.

--------

You read it? I hope you enjoyed it. You don't have to review, but~...

New chapter next week~. ::less than three::


	3. Chapter 2

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Review. (Maybe.)

* * *

The crash of thunder woke her up. Rain poured outside, beating mercilessly at the roof. Another crash. Arcadian whined and pawed at her door. Groaning, Mai got up and shuffled in her bare feet to the door. Arcadian came in, bounding, and made a gigantic leap onto her bed. He flew straight into the headboard, and whined.

Mai couldn't help but snicker. Her snookums was such a scaredy-cat sometimes. She left her bedroom door slightly ajar, in case Arcadian had to go, and crawled into bed with the whimpering dog. She dragged him over to her, and pet him soothingly. He licked her face, and laid his head down, finally chilling out.

The thunder crashed again, and Arcadian burrowed under the covers. Mai rolled over and tried to go back to sleep.

* * *

Demonic electric screams woke Mai and Arcadian up at six. Mai groaned and slapped at the wretched alarm clock, wishing they'd never existed, ever. She finally hit the snooze button, and it was quiet for ten minutes.

"Ugh," Mai said when it went off the second time, and got up, tucking her feet into warm slippers. It was cool in the house. She shut the stupid alarm clock up, and stood, then stretched. It was dim in the room. She'd need to take her umbrella today.

She heard Arcadian yawn from under the covers, and yawned herself. She began to get ready for work, sincerely wishing she could stay home and cuddle up with a cup of hazelnut coffee and a good romance novel under a big fleecy throw instead.

She washed up, and dressed and preened.

A nice pink turtleneck, black slacks, cute white flats, a silver necklace with a shiny crystal raindrop, medium-sized hoop earrings...Her hair was up and back in a loose, messy, cute French twist-type look, held up by a hair stick and a few bobby pins. A dash of dark purple eyeshadow where liner would be, a bit of pale pink on top of that, and then expertly blended to form a gradient was swiftly applied, along with a single, quick swipe of mascara. A pale pink dab of gloss on the lips, and one spray of perfume.

Mai looked outside, through the peephole, and, noting the water was very puddled, grabbed her oversized striped galoshes and striped raincoat. She was able to fit her foot – clad in the shoe, still, in the huge galoshes. She'd bought them big for this very purpose. She slipped into the raincoat, and closed it up. In the fullsize mirror, she looked fine, since the clashing pink turtleneck wasn't showing. She grabbed her umbrella and a bagel, left Arcadian a bowlful of food, and left.

* * *

"Mukuro! Did you get a haircut?" Mai exclaimed, eying her friend's hair curiously, "It looks good!"

Mukuro blushed a few different shades, tentatively touching her hair.

"Actually...Kiki put bubblegum, glue, glitter, mayonnaise, and peanut butter in it," she explained nervously, "And I chopped it all off in a fury..."

Miaki laughed.

"Wow, really? That kid..Well, you look good, anyhow, I mean, it's like, a short shag cut. Spunky, but totally cute and feminine," Mai's friend from day one, Miaki, gushed.

Miaki was a fiery young woman, and was actually closely related to the owner of Okama. She had a tendency to dye her hair all sorts of different colors, and had all sorts of insane styles.

Right now, her hair was spiky, black at the base, and the tips were fuchsia and navy. She was at the peak of fashion, wearing a sexy, but not skanky, low cut pink top, a denim jacket, cropped about three inches below her breasts, and mid-rise skinny jeans. She had seven piercings in her right ear, eight in the left. Her right eyebrow had a ring in it, with a stamped heart design down the middle of it. She was wearing a bunch of cute bracelets, and a few nice necklaces. She was wearing black heels. Mai thought of her as a younger sister, partway because Mai had been just like the younger woman before.

Mukuro was the polar opposite of Miaki. She was separated, and had one trouble-making, though lovable daughter, whereas Miaki spontaneously dated, never tied down for more than a few dates. Mukuro had long, lovely hair. Or she did, last week. She dressed shyly, always in a pair of nice slacks, and a nice, buttoned-up shirt. Never was she revealing. The woman didn't wear much makeup, had no piercings, and was rather quiet. Mai liked her, because the older woman (not by much, really. Mai had asked her once, and Mukuro was only about three or four years older than she was) was a good listener, and was always calm, the complete foil of Miaki.

Mai had good times with both women, despite their differences. Miaki was fun to go out on the town with. Mukuro was good to spend calm, tranquil evenings with.

"So, did you have a good weekend?" Mai asked, laying her raincoat on the extra chair behind her desk, and easily removing her galoshes.

Mukuro bowed her head, and pointed at her hair.

Miaki began gushing about her date.

Mai turned on her computer, and grabbed the files laying on her desk. She looked up, and Mukuro waved goodbye, as Miaki rambled. Mai waved at Mukuro.

Mai typed her password in.

"..And he was a doll, but I told him we could just be friends, because I was moving to Arabia to research hypochondratitical myothalamia. So, how was your weekend?"

Mai looked up, giggling.

"Hypo-what?" she asked the younger woman, who also laughed.

"I dunno, I made it up. So, what'd you do?" Miaki asked, sitting on the edge of Mai's desk.

"Well, Saturday, I met this guy..." she said, and Miaki squealed.

"Ooh, give me the details, dolly, was he sexy?"

Mai grinned, and feigned disinterest, "Oh, well, he was cycling, and he was wearing the _tightest_ black shirt. He had awesome arms, and a really nicely developed chest..."

She continued describing the man, ending with, "...And he works at AngelHeart. He's going to call me for lunch sometime.

Miaki had stars in her eyes.

"Wow, honey, you tell me..I want to meet this..This Adonis..." Miaki lulled dreamily.

"Hm. I'll see what I can do, although if you saw him..You'd know there was enough to share," the blond said, temptingly.

Miaki sighed, putting a hand over her forehead.

"Oh, Mai, you'll just have to introduce us sometime..."

Mai laughed, scanning the files left on her desk.

"Well, I gotta go work and stuff, so...See you later, Mai."

Mai stretched, placing the file to the side. She'd finished about half of her work, and she decided it was probably about time for lunch.

"My~ milkshake brings all the boys to tha yard..." her phone sang, and she grabbed it before it could go any further into the song.

"Kujaku Mai speaking," she greeted.

"Hey!" a bright voice came over the line, "Mai! It's Katsuya!"

Mai paused. How did Katsuya get her number?"

"Mai? Hatsumi, Hatsumi Katsuya?"

"Oh! Hi, Katsuya, how are you?" Mai said, feeling a blush creep across her face at her slight blunder. Over the phone, he sounded a lot like Jounouchi Katsuya, only older.

"I was wondering, would you like to grab lunch today?"

"Oh, sure!" Mai said, "I was actually about to take my lunch hour."

There was a pause, "Okay, sounds good to me. The Careless Café, as we discussed yesterday, m'lady?"

Mai laughed, and it tinkled like bells in Katsuya's ears, "Why of course, m'lord. Ten minutes?"

"Sure, works for me! See you soon?"

"Yep, Adieu!"

"Adieu," the man replied.

Mai laughed, and gathered up her things. Shut off her computer, and secured her files. She walked out of her office, and waved to the office lady, Eilene.

"Eilene, darling, I'm going on my break!" she called.

The sixty year old woman waved her off, talking on the phone.

Mai walked into the bustling café, looking around distractedly for Hatsumi. A busboy bumped into her, and the plates he balanced almost fell. A glass toppled

"Oh! Sorry, hon," she said, catching the glass dexterously, "I'm kind of distracted."

The black-haired boy took it, giving her an odd look before thanking her. He scuttled off, and Mai could have sworn she'd seen him before. Black hair, morose, dark blue eyes, almost navy...Hm...

"Mai?" a voice came from behind her.

She turned.

"Oh! Hatsumi!" Mai said, smiling, "How are you?"

Hatsumi Katsuya frowned a little bit at her over politeness, referring to him by his last name, but he disregarded it, and asked the hostess for a table.

They were led to a window seat that had just opened, and Mai sat down daintily. The waitress handed them both tall, slim menus, and asked them if they were interested in today's manager special. After a polite decline, the waitress left them alone for a moment.

"Wow, Anzu's café is doing really well," Mai commented, looking at the nice menus and admiring the little place.

"Hm?" Hatsumi asked, his eyes roaming the menu quickly.

Mai looked at all the traditional dishes, Japanese and American, and the different styles of coffee and..Wow, there was a ton of variety.

"Oh, I know the woman who owns the store. But she's left it to look for areas, so she can branch out. One of her friends runs it now," she commented, and thought.

Cappuccino sounded good, maybe with some pickled plum rice cakes and the side sushi platter..

Hatsumi looked up wondrously, "Really? You know the owner?"

"Yeah, we used to duel. Well, I dueled her boyfriend, and some of her acquaintances."

Hatsumi looked surprised, and asked, "Oh, you used to duel monsters?"

Mai grinned, "Yep, I used to be pretty good, too. Do you remember when the sweeps came through to test duelists for Duel Island?"

Hatsumi nodded. "I tried out for it, actually, but I didn't make the cut..."

Mai smiled lightly, "Duel Island was rather nice, but the idiots running around..."

"No way! You went?" Hatsumi said, leaning in interestedly, "Was it good?"

Mai shrugged. "Alright, I think. It's been a while since I last dueled, I don't really remember much..I had good times, though, met a lot of interesting people, did a lot of things. A lot of adventure."

The brunette smiled, glancing at the menu again.

Mai, having already decided, glanced around the restaurant, admiring Anzu's handiwork. The woman did have a flair for fashion, Mai decided, and could have easily made it in the fashion business. The waitress came back, and took their orders, and the menus.

"Why must they always take the menus away?" Mai's date asked, "I don't know about the majority of the population, but I can't remember the dessert section after I eat.."

She laughed, and agreed with him heartily. Small talk, small talk, small talk. Their lunches came.

Mai swiveled in her office chair, meeting an anxious Miaki.

"Details, immediately."

Mai smirked a bit as she replied, "Well, their cappuccino is to die for, it's really rich, and they top it with ground cinnamon and chocolate shavings and whipped cream! And as for the ginger chicken salad, oh, don't get me started.." The blond fanned her face, feigning drama.

"Woman, the man! Details about the man!" Miaki said, sitting on Mai's desk.

"Oh! The man..Um.." Mai pretended to be deep in thought. She'd just finished up the last bits of transcribing paper files to digital files, and was free to leave at any time now.

"Well..."

"Ma~ai!" The younger woman whined.

"Okay, okay! Chill," Mai ordered, and commenced to give Miaki a glowing description of their date, and how there was another one in three days, and a praiseful diction on Hatsumi's personality.

Mai walked into her home, tired, but pleased at such a pleasant day. This week, she thought, would definitely be a good one.


	4. Bad Day

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* * *

"Ohh, Arcadian!!" Mai groaned, rubbing her temples, "You know better than to go in the house.."

Her black dog whimpered, his tail between his legs, looking very guilty. She pointed to the door, and he hung his head, walking through his doggy-door to the small back yard.

The blond woman frowned, and grabbed two plastic bags, one over her hand, and opened up the other one.

After cleaning up the mess, she looked at the clock, and realized that it wasn't 6:30, it was 9:30. Her jaw dropped in horrible realization, and she scrambled to get ready for work, ditching makeup, hose, and a brush for time's sake. She yelled goodbye to her dog, grabbed a cereal bar, and ran out the front door, almost headlong into the paper boy.

"Oh! Honey, how are you today?" she asked, stopping out of mere politeness. The boy grinned sheepishly, and handed her the paper.

"Here, Ms. Kujaku, I brought you your paper. The band was broken, and I didn't want it to go flying away.." he said shyly, blushing.

Mai smiled at the 12-year old boy, replying a little hurriedly, "Thank you, sweetheart...I haven't got a tip on me today, and I'm running really late, but tomorrow, there's twice a tip in it for you if the paper is intact." She ruffled his hair. "Run on, I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

The young boy, obviously wooed, hopped on his bike, continuing his track. He threw a paper at the next house, and it landed in a spot of mud. Briefly, Mai glanced at the paper. Her stock had dropped ten points. Her horoscope told her she'd have a wonderful day: New people in the forecast, a bright love situation, and her lucky numbers were 6, 17, 63, and 21.

Mai inwardly, bitterly chuckled as she practically dived into her car -today didn't look wonderful yet, that was fpr sure, and broke the speed limit most of the way to work.

* * *

As the blond walked into her office, she blanched notably at the size of today's paperwork. That stack...It had to be almost as tall as she was...

A dry, nasally voice called out behind her, "Miaki's hung over and Mukuro's daughter is sick, you got their paperwork, Kujaku..."

The blond woman visibly slumped, and shuffled into her office, intent on slamming through the paperwork as painlessly as possible.

* * *

Sixteen paper cuts, two blisters, a sore back, an achy neck, and exhausted eyes and fingers, and what did it get her? Not much, but...It was done...

Eileen knocked.

"Hm?" Mai said, stretching, joints popping.

Eileen carried in another stack of papers.

* * *

Mai's head hit the desk.

She'd been late. Got yelled at by her boss. Got three or four times the normal amount of paperwork. Missed breakfast, missed lunch, and spent an extra five hours at work.

On top of it all, someone had borrowed her parking spot, and she'd had to use one really far away from the building.

And now, it was raining. As her "wonderful day" had gone, she realized that, in her flurry to leave, she'd forgotten her umbrella. And the downpour was not apt to let up soon.

She got up, wobbly from being at her desk so long, and stretched. Resulting in the straining of her left calf muscle and right hamstring. Resulting in her knocking her knee on her desk as she left. Resulting in a lopsided jog as the rain drenched her nice dark purple top, and good black slacks. Her flats were probably ruined, too...These were her favorites...

She walked up to the car, and reached for her purse.

Only to realize she'd left it in the office, with her keys and cellphone.

Naturally, by the time she's gotten back to the office, it was locked. Surely there was a janitor, or a security guard...Somewhere in the 15-story building. The blond's head hung, and she trudged along the sidewalk, towards home.

* * *

A car splashed by her. The way she felt, she probably looked homeless. Drenched to the bone, the wind whipping around her, chilling her to her very core, and still another mile or sixteen thousand to go. She felt miserable, like sobbing, almost.

Her flats were muddy and slimy and ruined, the hem of her pants bedraggled and slimy...Her hair was matted to her back...And slimy...

She shivered, and noted the quickly darkening sky. She picked up her pace, looking like a wet river rat, jogging along.

A car rolled up next to her.

It was a red, slightly rusty, oldish pickup, with dark windows. She kept walking, and it rolled in sync with her steps, as one of the windows creaked down, a crank turning on the inside.

"Hey! Hey!" Someone shouted through the window, through the rain, "Hey, do you need a lift?"

Mai glanced to the side, but remembered everything her mom told her about cars and strangers, and kept walking.

"Hey, lady!" the indignant voice persisted, "Y'wanna ride or not?"

Mai, recognizing something about the swift anger in the voice, whipped her head around, stopping.

"Jounouchi Katsuya?" she asked, surprised.

The once-upon-a-time blond appeared taken aback, and he stopped his car. The engine idled loudly, almost as loudly as the rain crashing down.

"Yeah..Howd'ya..." the guy said, suspicious. After a slight hesitation, he offered one more time, " Eh, whatever....A lift?"

Mai walked around to the other side of the car, opened the door (with only a little trouble), and slid in. She'd have hugged the man next to her, but she was a bit wet, and apologized for getting his seats wet, being a bother, and so forth, and so on.

"Hey, hey, it's okay," the brown-eyed man said, and scrutinized her face, putting the old truck into gear. Can't stay on the side of the road forever. He glanced over at the bedraggled woman again. Her head was in her hands.

"I live on the sixth house on the right of Cherry Street. Number 5292," the woman said tiredly.

"I know you," the man said, taking a left onto Ochre Street.

"Yeah...You look a lot different now, Jounouchi.." she said, and looked at him. He squinted at the road.

"You dyed your hair?"

"Yeah," he said, pulling onto Cherry, "I dunno. I get a lot of looks since it's blond."

"So do I, but.."

"I dunno. Maybe it's just me...I felt like blending in."

"I couldn't do that to my hair..That's one thing I'm not gonna change. Ever."

The [newly] brunette laughed, and pulled into her driveway.

"Hey, do you want to come in? A cup of coffee, a quick bite or something?" She asked, hopefully "It's the least I could do."

The brunette man smiled, "I can't, right now. I'm babysitting for Anzu and...Oh hey, did you know they got married?" he paused briefly, "Oh, anyways, Anzu's got like, a zillion kids now. Oh, and she's married to Honda and...They're expecting me. They wanted to have a romantic night out, and I'm babysitting."

Mai was disappointed, but only slightly, and only for a moment.

"Okay, well..Thanks again." Mai thanked him again, "Maybe I'll see you again sometime soon?"

"Oh!" the driver said, reaching down into the mess of a floorboard. He grabbed a take-out bag and three ketchup packets. Ten digits, on a paper bag. With ketchup.

"This is my phone number," he said earnestly, handing it to her, "We need to catch up. I haven't seen you in, what, seven years?" . Mai almost laughed. He was so the same the boy she'd left behind.

Mai took the paper, grinning for the first time all day.

The rain lightened up, if only for a moment. Mai pulled the creaky door handle.

"Better get going while it's light," she said, "I'll chat with you later...And...Thanks for ride. I'll have to pay you back sometime."

A quick goodbye, another apology for soaking seats.

She hurried into the house, protecting the slightly greasy bag well as she could. She got under the porch, and reached up for the spare key. She unlocked the door, and looked over her shoulder, watching her old friend back out of the driveway. The rain picked back up as he drove off.

She walked inside, locking the door behind her. She'd have to take the bus, she supposed, the following morning. Gross.

Arcadian bounded up to her, and she smiled wearily at him. He bounced up, his forepaws clawing into her thighs.

"Hey, honey bear," she cooed, "How's my big boy? I sure hope joo hadda better day than mommy, yes I do, yes I do..."

The lab barked happily, licking at her cheeks. Mai's hair fell, dripping water everywhere. Arcadian licked at it, and sniffed at her bag.

When the pup tried to lick it, Mai whipped it away, She shook her head when Arcadian whined, and just said, "Can't have this, bebe... Come on in over, we gets you some dinner, sweetheart, sounds good? Hm?"

-------

Arcadian was sated, having eaten a nice, humanesque supper. Mai'd let him have some of her stir-fry, because the package was made for two, and there's no use in wasting food. Plus, stir-fry nuked in the microwave...Nyeck.

Mai scribed the number onto a piece of normal stationery, and stuck it to the fridge. The bag got tossed. Sighing, she shuffled into her room, ready for a hot shower, a good book, and then...The obvious happened. A crash of thunder, and then, her lights when out. Fantastic.

Mai decided to just go to bed.

* * *

Haha. Mai had a terrible day.

…Great, now I feel like a butt-head. Ah, well, it all gets better.


	5. Chapter 5

Read.

Enjoy.

Review.

* * *

A/N: Thanks to JadeVioletPhoenix, FFNRocks, ValonGirl, and LuckyBlackCat for their reviews. It's appreciated!

---------------------

No crash. No demonic shouts. Sunshine glinted off of Mai's jewelry box. A sliver of sunlight batted at Mai's eyes, but she rolled over, facing the other way. The sunlight made her hair shimmer like liquid gold.

"Gm.." she mumbled, snuggling up to her pillow.

There was a soft scratching and a whimper at the door. She mumbled again, louder.

The scratching got louder.

A small frown creased her brow, and then she shifted,pulling her covers around her tighter. Arcadian whined.

"Oh...Fine...Five more minutes, baby..." she moaned, gophering into her blankets.

A bark out, ruining the almost-silence of the room. Mai sighed, and slid her feet out of bed. Her slippers weren't there, unfortunately.

She'd left them in the bathroom yesterday, when she'd been in such a rush. Grumble.

She padded over to her bedroom door and let Arcadian into her room. As she was about to close the door, she heard her cell ringing, and so she trotted to the foyer, where she'd left it. She flipped it open.

"Good morning," she said.

"Hey! Mai, it' Hatsumi. How are you?" a calm voice came over the line. Mai heard sizzling sounds in the background, and considered making some breakfast. She glanced at the clock. Erm. Brunch, maybe?

"Oh, hi, Hatsumi, how are you?"

"Fantastic, since you picked up the phone. How are you on this lovely Saturday morn?"

Mai laughed, responding that she was doing great, just a little sore because she'd had a long day yesterday. She'd gone to the gym after work.

"Oh, well, are you working today?" the man asked. The sizzling stopped, and Mai heard something sloshing into a cup.

"Nope! One thing I definitely love about my job is the free weekends..."

"Oh, that's cool. Well, I'm getting off at six, and I was wondering if you'd like to go out to dinner with me tonight. La Chateau de Masque."

"Oh! Well...Don't you have to have reservations for that place?" Mai asked, suddenly interested,petting Arcadian with one foot. She'd wandered into the kitchen, and was fishing for a package of turkey. She'd read about a meal in a magazine that sounded really good...She grabbed some ingredients.

"Well, yeah, but..I have a friend who works there."

"Oh! Interesting... Well, I suppose I could cut some time into my schedule for you.." Mai agreed coyly, pulling her favorite sautee pan from the rack that hung around the kitchen island.

There was a slight pause before Hatsumi responded. She assumed he took a bite of whatever he was eating.

"Sounds good. I'll pick you up at eight, then?"

"Sure! Wear something nice," she commanded, in jest.

"But of course, m'lady." A clink was made in the background. Putting a fork down, perhaps. Mai took some fresh vegetables out from the fridge, and put them in the sink. She grabbed a slicing tray from her pulled out a medium-sized one from a collection of board.

"Sounds like a date, then? She commented, smiling to herself as she washed the veggies.

"Yup! For sure." the man said, and then a soft swish. Mai assumed that she took a drink of his liquid nourishment.

"Definitely." A beep interrupted her., "Oh, Hatsumi, I have a beep...But I'll see you tonight at eight, right?"

Beep.

"Right, I'll pick you up at your house, okay?"

"Okay," she said, "Adieu, then!"

A surprised "Adieu!" was barely noticed as she switched over to the other call.

"Hello?" she said, inquisitively pleasantly.

"Hey! Mai! It's Anzu. How are you?" a bright, peppy voice called out. Mai grinned at the voice of her friend.

"Anzu! A pleasantly way to start any morning. How are you?" The blond said, chopping up her vegetables, tossing the needed slivers into the pan.

"I'm doing alright. Just kind of..Taking care of the kids. Haha"

"Anzu! Hey, where is Mori and Suro's diaper bag?" a man's voice rang out. Honda, Mai assumed.

"Hm? Over there, in the easy chair. No, wait, next to it. Jounouchi left it there last night... Oh, Mai! Sorry.."

"No need to apologize," Mai said, bagging the leftover vegetables.

"How are they, speaking of the kids?" The leftover vegetables went into the fridge.

"They're alright. Yuugi has Mizuru this weekend, so it's just me, Hiroto, and the boys. What are you up to?"

"Oh, nothing. Making a light lunch...Going out tonight. I need to find a way to fill from..." Mai looked at the clock. Ten thirty. "From about noon to five." she decided.

"Ouch! Mori, don't pull my hair!" Anzu exclaimed, and Mai heard a soft swat. "Hm. Well, that's interesting...Would you like to come over around three and have a light lunch with us? I know you wanted to meet the kids..."

Mai paused, grabbing a wooden spoon and turning the stove on. She added some olive oil, to fry the veggies. She took another pan from the rack above the island, and grabbed the few ingredients it took to make her zesty, light spice sauce.

"Yeah, sure, I can come. Would you like me to bring anything? Juice, fruit salad, cupcakes?" Mai asked, mixing a few things up. She stirred her vegetables once, and filled a small pot with water. The blond put it on the stove, and set it to boil. She stirred the veggies. Stirred the thin, white sauces as it began to thicken. Pulled a box of bow-tie pasta from the cabinet.

"Oh, I don't know...We're just having lunch-meat sandwiches and potato salad..."

"I could bring some fruit salad or some cookies.." Mai said, pouring thickened sauce into the sautéed vegetables. She put the pan into the sink, stirred the sauce, and noted the boiling water all at once, thinking of what might go well with a lunch-meat sandwiches and potato salad.

"No, no! Suro! Don't pull th-" Mai heard a crash and a sigh, and poured a little pasta into the boiling water.

"You need to go?" Mai asked, stirring the cooking pasta and sauce.

"Mm," Anzu said, probably bending down to pick something up, "Yeah. We live on the third house off of Ochre, do you know where that is?"

Mai paused, pouring water into the pan in the sink.

"You mean Ochre Lane, near Cherry Street?"

Anzu hesitated, probably thinking.

"Yeah, that's right. The boys' babysitter lives down that street."

Mai stirred the vegetables and sauce, and turned the stove off. "Huh. That's really weird."

"Why?" Anzu asked, and told her husband something. He asked her who she was talking to that was so important she couldn't change a diaper.

"Well, I live on Cherry..."

"Oh, really? Wow! We lived so...Haha, isn't that funny?" Anzu laughed. "Oh, hey, hon, I have to go. Suro just broke this vase and I have to clean it up before someone gets cut...I'll see you later, though, okay?"

"Sure thing, sweetie. You take it easy," Mai said absently, straining the pasta. "I'll see you in a while, okay?"

"'Kay. Later!"

Mai flipped the phone closed, and set it on the counter. She put about a third of the pasta in a bowl, and expertly poured a drabble of sauce over the pasta. She put the rest of the pasta and sauce in a set of Tupperware containers, and put them in her nice, stainless-steel refrigerator. Knowing her meal was still hot, the blond opted to feed Arcadian his Kibbles'n'Bits before nourishing herself. She poured the dry dog food into his bowl, and put water in the other bowl.

Hm.. She looked at the bowl and decided she might like a piece of toast, too. She put a piece of bread in the toaster, then looked for something to drink. She opted for a glass of sweet red wine, to loosen up her soreness. This week had been tough, anyways.

As she poured already chilled wine into one of her delicate wineglasses, the toast popped up. She grabbed it and put it in the bowl. She snagged a fork from the silverware drawer, and ate a delicious, delicious, homemade lunch.

* * *

Two thirty. Mai had eaten a good breakfast, taken a long shower, and played fetch with Arcadian in the yard. Later, she'd whipped up some no-bake chocolate-oatmeal-peanut butter cookies, the kind her mom used to make all the time and were usually gone in seconds. She'd even helped herself to one or two. She'd packed a good amount into a moderately sized Tupperware container – Lord, she loved Tupperware – and put the rest on a plate and covered them, leaving them on the dining room table.

She'd decided to go in something nice, but casual – dark indigo boot-cut jeans, a lavender tee with flowery print in sequins on the corner and around the v-cut collar. Her hair was braided, and she had a slight bit of nude-shaded make-up to cover the tiredness this week had caused. She'd almost worn hoop earrings, but remembering the children, opted for small opal studs, instead. She pulled her cropped denim jacket from the hallway closet, and grabbed the cookie container, then headed out the door.

* * *

Mai started up the Hondas' driveway, slightly warm from the sun having been out as she'd walked over to their home. It wasn't far – only a few blocks away from the blond's dwelling.

She knocked on the door. A loud bump came from inside, and Mai heard a wail from inside, and a deep, hearty laugh.

"Dude, you can't run into the door like that," a man's voice, presumably Hiroto's, commented lightly, and she heard a high-pitched giggle. The doorknob turned. "Suro, don't laugh at Mori when he's in pain."

"Hey! Mazaki-kun!" the brunette man greeted his ex-crush with a smile, a black-haired toddler, probably about a year and a half or so old.

"Honda, hi...The children...Looked so much younger in the photographs Anzu showed me..." Mai said, slightly taken aback.

"Oh, yeah," Honda said, hoisting Suro, apparently, up as the boy began to slip. Mori clung to his dad's calf, sucking his thumb and looking up expectantly at Mai.

"They're a handful....We haven't really had time to go and get new pictures made."

Mai contemplated, only for a moment, and responded noncommittally with and "Oh."

Honda pushed Mori aside, gently, and created a gap so that Mai could come into the home. She stepped into the threshold carefully, to avoid tripping, and stepped behind them awkwardly. Honda closed the door and motioned for Mai to go on.

"Just that way is the foyer. Do you mind going into the kitchen, that's where Anzu is, and helping her while I get these two's diapers changed? It's to the left once you get in there, just shout for her..."

Mai followed his directions, listening and smiling lightly as she heard him juggling the boys. She opened the door to the kitchen, and saw her brunette friend cutting a sandwich into fours.

"Hello, Anzu, sugar, how are you?" the blond greeted her friend, setting down the box, filled aplenty with cookies, on the nice counter top to her left.

Anzu turned, facing her friend with a slightly surprised, "Hm?" She smiled, giving a salute, and pointed to the small stack of lunch meat sandwiches. "I'm okay, hon, how are you? Do you mind giving me a hand with these sandwiches? We just have to make a couple more..."

Mai nodded, making her way over stray toys and cups, "Sure thing. Why so many?" There had to be nearly ten sandwiches already, plus the cut-up squares for the boys.

"Oh, ah," Anzu said, hesitating as she nearly lost the Swiss cheese package to gravity, "I invited Yuugi and his girlfriend and Jounouchi and his friend over, too, so we'll probably need about ten more, if you know what I mean."

Mai grinned, picking up a slice of wheat bread, reaching for some bologna, "Oh, yeah. How could I forget the ravenous appetites?" Anzu laughed.

The women made ten more sandwiches, and left the bread and meats and cheeses in open space. Just in case, of course, the twenty or so sandwiches didn't last.

Mai distantly heard a knock on the door, as Anzu opened the sliding door to the small patio outside. There was a play set in the back yard, a tricycle, a wagon, and a plastic mini-pool. Eight ice lawn chairs were set around a large-ish picnic table. Mai set the huge sandwich platter down in the center, and Anzu set down a pitcher of tea and a liter of soda. The women went back in, and Mai heard more clearly the knocking. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Honda had a diaper on his head. Anzu asked her to get the door while she fixed up some glasses.

Mai recalled her steps, and reached for the doorknob. She opened the door, and was greeted by a shock of yellow bangs melded into a sea of black and crimson hair. She looked down, only slightly. Yuugi Mutou had grown, but was still a head, at least, shorter than her.

"Mazaki Mai?" came a surprised exclamation, and Yuugi stepped back a little. His girlfriend peeked around him. Mai inwardly smirked. She knew Yuugi would end up with that little girl.

"Mai?" the blond girl said, her blueish eyes squinting a bit through bronze, metal-framed glasses.

"Mutou Yuugi, and Rebecca Hopkins. How are you?" Mai greeted, almost awkwardly. She stepped to the side, as Honda had done. The pair made their way into the house easily. Rebecca was nearly Mai's height, four or five inches taller than Yuugi.

"We're alright," Rebecca said confidently, "How are you? It's been a long time."

"I've been doing well. Making do, you know?" Mai said, and just then, noted the sleeping child in Yuugi's arms, and the baby cradled in the crook of Rebecca's left arm.

"Mizuru?" Mai inquired, glancing at the young girl Yuugi was carrying. The man nodded proudly, stroking his daughter's hair. Mai noted the girl's almost shocking semblance to her father. She motioned towards Rebecca's child.

"I see you have another?" she asked, as they walked to the den.

Rebecca nodded, stroking her child's face. "Born six months ago. His name is Kaoru."

Mai smiled, and the couple sat down on the overstuffed couch, across from Honda, who was pretending to be a bear. His children laughed and poked at his face.

Mai turned, and went into the kitchen, where Anzu had set out eight plastic cups, and had filled them with ice. She had picked up four of them, preparing to take them to the patio, presumably. The blond took up the other four, and Anzu told the group in the foyer it was just about ready, just a few more minutes.

Mai and Anzu carried out potato salad, chips, dip, and two more liters of pop before another knock on the door interrupted their preparations and bright chatter.

Anzu got the door this time, while Mai crooned over Anzu's beautiful children, and doted on Rebecca's cute little bundle. All the children had woken up when Suro shouted at Mori for pulling his hair.

Honda went outside, leaving his twins with the other adults for a moment, and turned on, presumably, a stereo outside. It played a generic mix of family-safe music.

Mori looked at Mai again, and she smiled openly, waving. He toddled over to her, and crawled into her lap, looking at her with big, clean, blue eyes. She noticed that there was a brown ring in his left eye, where the color was starting to turn. He gurgled at her, making a few indiscernible noises through his fist. He was sucking his thumb, still. She picked him up, and pretended he was an airplane, making whooshing sounds. He giggled, and stuck his arms out, "brrrrbbb"-ing with his lips. Mai grinned at the child's delight.

Suro looked up at his brother jealously, from Yuugi's lap. Mizuru had disappeared moments ago, saying something about her princess.

Two male voices entered the room, jestingly arguing with Anzu about being late.

"Varon, Jounouchi, I just don't know what to do with you two sometimes..." Anzu said, exasperated. Suro slid off Yuugi's lap and toddled over to Anzu.

"Yeah, well....Hey, who's this?" Varon said, his Australian accent having faded drastically, only a hint of it remaining. He leaned around the chair, his face inches from Mai's.

"Mai~" He drawled, hugging her. He had no personal bounds. After the Orichalcos seal had been broken, his personality had been..Broken, to say. He was wild, free. Boundless.

"Varon," Mai said awkwardly, remembering how she had left him in Spain, so many years ago. A night of wild romance, unveiled, unmasked, raw, irresistible need. She'd left in the morning, wordlessly. "How've you been?

The man behind her sighed, probably so softly that she was the only one who heard.

"I've been managing. Living life as it comes." he said solemnly, then stood, taking Suro from Anzu and spinning him around the room, singing.

The blond on the couch twisted around. "Hi, Jounouchi! Thanks again for the other day."

The now-brunette grinned sheepishly, blushing lightly. "It's really no big deal. No one should walk home in the rain. Did you get your stuff back?"

She nodded, and Anzu walked out onto the patio.

"Stuff's ready! She called out, sliding open the Plexiglas door, and strutting out onto the patio. Mizuru rushed out next, now donned in a tiara, a bright pink tutu and pink shirt, and to different shoes. She tried, though, right?

A wonderful lunch was had. Mai earned the numbers of Varon and Yuugi and Rebecca, and she gave hers out respectively. They talked about the old days, the times they had, the things they'd been doing, the things they would have to do, friends they had and where they were now. It was six o'clock when the group dissipated – Varon and Jounouchi were going clubbing and had to prepare, Rebecca and Yuugi had a three-hour drive, minimum, back to Domino City, and Mai had a date. The kids were getting tired, too. They bid one another ado, promising to keep touch, and perhaps get a sitter for all the kids and have a rendezvous sometime soon, a reunion of sorts.

-----

Mai looked at herself in the long mirror, wondering if she looked decent enough for the Chateau.

She'd curled her hair like she used to. It fell in rolling, softer curls, now, though, because her hair length had increased, so it was heavier. Curl didn't hold as well. Still, the gentle curls gave her an almost princess-like appearance. She'd found some of her old makeup, and carefully blended a midnight blue and lavender set of eyeshadow to form a delicate, soft indigo-violet tone, making her amethyst eyes pop. The expertly applied eyeliner opened them up, giving her an innocent sheen over her sexy, feminine features. Mascara darkened her lashes, mixing seductiveness into her innocent eyes. A light blush gave her a girlish color, and the foundation hid the few flaws her face offered.

She'd opted for silver jewelry – cascading chain earrings, the small heart-shaped locket her mother had given her eons ago, a simple chain bracelet – because it went smoothly with most anything.

A slightly low-cut, flirty dress she'd picked out some time ago. She'd worn it once before her 'reform', but kept it. It had only been worn once – why throw it away? It was sleek, clingy, and cut off about mid-thigh. It was intelligently striped with white in all the right places, making her hourglass figure more apparent. Opting for painless feet, she wore kitten heels, black, and showing just the right amount of toe cleavage. She had to admit that she thought she looked...Different. Stylish. Chic.

A spray of perfume finished her character.

The blond admired herself in the mirror. She hadn't felt so excited since...Since...Since her fling with Varon. She thought back to that night. The rushing youth. The aphrodasia. The raw, relentless, roughness that she'd so needed, the extreme desire and openness...

Ding-dong, ding-dong. The doorbell interrupted her reminiscence of a night of passion long past. Her heels clicked gently as she walked to open the door. Aracadian padded behind her, curious. The blond opened the door.

Hatsumi's face nearly dropped, and Mai felt his gaze slide over her. The action did not repulse her so much as it made her bristle with pride. She still had her mojo, for sure. The thought made her preen with joy her dormant ego.

She looked at her date. He was wearing a nice suit – black, with a crisp white shirt underneath, a smart black tie tucked neatly into the jacket. His hair was neatly parted to the side, and he ran a hand through it. She noted a silver watch, but not the silver band on his ring finger.

"Wow. Just...Wow," he said, and looked her in the eye. "You look... Stunning."

She smiled, and stroked her black clutch. "Thanks, you don't look too bad yourself, Doc."

A slight confusion passed his face, just momentarily, and he grinned. "Shall we?" he asked, offering his right hand to her. She turned and locked the door before taking his hand, and he led her to his car – a nice, blue, Saab.

As he closed the door, Hatsumi noted the band on his hand. He slid it off as he walked around to the other side of the car, placing it in his pocket. He slid into the car.

* * *

Hm. Hm. Hm.

I hope you guys are still enjoying this!! Thanks so much to the reviewers! I appreciate it.


	6. Chapter 6

Little late, sorry... Had a busy week. Extra babysitting, random hugeish load of homework, and five birthdays. D:

Read.

Enjoy.

Review.

Maybe.

* * *

Thunk.

"Spill. Now," Miaki commanded, covering Mai's computer screen with her hand, bangles and bracelets clinking softly against the screen.

Mai looked up innocently at Miaki. "Oh, but, whatever do you mean, Miaki-kins?"

Miaki's pale green eyes narrowed, mockingly evil. "You know exactly what I mean, Miss Mai. You saw me at the Chateau, I know you did! I was with...that..Whatever his name was! You were with that doctor fellow, Hatsumi. Now. Spill."

Mai twirled a lock of blond hair between her fingers, feigning lack of rembrance. "Hm..."

"Saturday! Come on, Mai~," the younger woman whined, draping herself over Mai's desk and various work things.

The blond made a raspberry-like psh noise, as though she were annoyed, before gushing about her date.

"Well, he picked me up at seven, he was all cleaned up and-"

"What did you wear? I mean, I saw a little, but Kiandre pulled me away before I could get more than a slight glimpse..."

"Oh, just ah, you know...An old dress."

Miaki made a face. "You didn't _look_ like you were wearing a frumpy old dress..."

Mai frowned a little. "Well, I only wore it once. I used to be...A little wild. Back when I was younger."

"You? Wild? Don't make me laugh. This is the first date I know you've been on since...Since you got here."

"Well...Yeah, that's because it _is_. But, this was a long time ago, when I was a delicate young flower, much like yourself," Mai threw her hand over her forehead, in a fit of false passion, "Now I'm just a dried up old maid, suffering in my spindler-y-ness, aching for romance..."

Miaki rolled her eyes. "You're in a good mood...Ha ha. Did you..?"

"No," Mai said quickly, defensively. "Never, especially _not_ on the first date..."

"Meh. Go on."

"Those earrings you showed me, the cascade silver ones? Well, I wore those, bought them a while back, and my mom's locket, and a bracelet... Oh, and the black kitten heels you left at my house after what's-his-name dumped you, when we went out?"

Miaki smiled dolefully. "That was fun. Sad at first but...You're amazing at making things like that better," she sighed, then perked up again. "So...How was it?"

"Pretty good, actually. We had dinner, he paid for the meals and I left the tip... Then we went to that 24-hour mall out on...Oh, I forget where, and we just kind of goofed off for a while." the blond smiled. "He's really funny. You might like to hang with us..We're going out again Thursday night. You're off, right?"

Miaki nodded. "Yeah. My newest fella wouldn't mind doubling, I don't think. So what kind of car did the doc drive?"

"A blue Saab. It was really, really awesome."

"Ooh la la. Sounds like the right kind of guy." Miaki said, grinning.

Mukuro peeked into Mai's office. "Hi, guys." She said, poking her head into the office. "What are you doing?"

"Chatting," the women both said at once. Mukuro smiled softly, letting herself in. She was dressed modestly, as usual.

"Is that a new skirt?" Miaki asked, eying Mukuro's black, mid-calf skirt. The slender woman nodded.

"How was your might, Miaki?" Mai asked, averting the conversation.

"Huh? Oh, it was alright. Kiandre manages that nightclub, you know, the new one, what is it...Oh, I dunno. Something generic. Anyhow. We went to the Cheateau and then to the club. It was funlike."

Mai nodded.

"Strawberry Kisses, you mean?" Mukuro asked, plucking a mint from a small bowl on Mai's desk.

Both Mai and Mukuro looked at the slight woman, slack-jawed.

Mukuro popped the mint into her mouth, and looked at her friends.

"What?" she asked.

"You..." they both said slowly, words failing them to continue.

Mukuro blinked, thinking. "Oh. No. Nononono. I didn't-"

"You went to the new club?" her friends asked, eyes slitted evilly, malicious, cold smiles on their faces. "Oh, you naughty, naughty..."

"No! No, you misunderstand.." the woman said, putting her hands up defensively. "I just, em, like the, ah, store down that, er, street, the...The one that, ah, sells the incense and, um, candles, and, ah..." Her face was bright red, and she was rubbing the tails of her vest nervously.

Her women friends laughed.

Suddenly, there were three sharp raps on the door. Eilene's dyed red hair and graying face, brightened by old, too-bright makeup. Her eyes narrowed.

"Get back to work. Now." she grumbled.

The phone rang in the other room. She left.

Miaki and Mai laughed, and Mukuro chuckled quietly, slightly embarrasedly.

Mai locked her office behind her. She waved goodbye to Eilene. Mukuro was locking her office, and music was coming out of Miaki's.

"Leaving?" Mai asked Mukuro. The smaller woman nodded meekly, and followed Mai to the elevator.

"Going clubbing?" Mai asked, grinning wolfishly.

Mukuro laughed quietly. "No, you know the dance scene isn't for me."

Mai nodded. They rode the elevator down together.

"We should grab dinner this weekend, you and I." Mai said, pulling her keys out of her purse.

Mukuro shrugged noncommittally. "Perhaps."

"See you tomorrow," the blond said. The dark-haired woman bid her a good evening.

"I~ just wanna fly...Put your arms around me baby, put your arms me baby... I~ Just wanna fly. Put your arms around me baby, put your arms around me baby... I just want to fly. Just want to fly. Spread your love and fly, spread your love and-"

Mai flipped the phone open. "Hello," she said pleasantly, walking out into cloudy sunshine.

"Hey! Mai, it's Varon." a bright, Aussie-accented voice greeted, "Are you busy?"

The blond ignored the emotions that spiked. "Not really, I just got out of the office, to be honest. What's up?"

There was a slight pause, and she heard a yelp.

"'Ey! Jaden, don't flush that while J's in the shower, it makes it cold!" She heard the younger man yell. "Eh, nothing, really, just kind of hanging out at Jounouchi's with the guys. Hadda Halo slash C-O-D five tourney last night."

"Fun?" Mai commented, unlocking her car. She tossed her purse into the passenger seat. She didn't know much about games. Miaki might, but..

"Very. So, ah, are you busy tonight, maybe around six?" the Australian accent had thickened again. She assumed he could just mask it, that must be why he sounded so...much like he used to.

Mai didn't respond, and climbed into her car. She inserted the keys into the ignition. They jingled.

"Mai?"

"Oh, ah, no. I'm not busy, not at all."

"Would you like to grab a bite? Maybe see a movie?"

Mai thought. "Sure. Where would you like to meet?" Why not? She could practically see the younger man doing a small celebratory dance. She heard Jaden laughing.

"Uh, the Cinema. ShadyBrook, you know the one off-"

"Yep. What time?"

A pause. "How about five fifty? That new flick, ah, Confessions of a Shopaholic,is on at six."

Mai smiled. She'd wanted to see that.

"Sure, it works for me. See you at five fifty, ShadyBrook Cinema?"

"Y..Yes! Definitely. See you there."

She grinned, stifling a laugh. "Okay, great. I'll see you then."

"Great!"

"...Bye..?"

"Oh!" he said, laughing, "Ah, got caught up in something. Bye!"

She grinned, and turned the phone off.

Mai looked at herself in the mirror. She'd braided her hair. It looked nice. Not spectacular, but nice. She donned a long turquoise turtleneck. The neck was large and loose, making her neck look longer. It reached mid-thigh. She's slipped some brown tights on under it. Nice white shoes. She'd opted for small stud earrings, and that was it. The sleeves of her shirt were too long for a bracelet to matter, and a loose-neck turtleneck didn't look good with any of her necklaces.

She clipped her bangs back with a black hairclip, and tucked the longer strands behind her ears. Five fifteen.

She poured Arcadian a small dinner, and a fresh bowl of water. She patted his silky black fur lovingly as he chowed down.

Quickly, she checked a few things on the Internet. Her stock had gone up, she had nine new friend requests on MySpace and five on FaceBook. All of them were old friends. She hesitated. Things had changed so much. She wasn't sure if she was really ready to go back to those people. The blond wasn't totally sure about going out with Varon, tonight, either. She didn't want to be the person she was before, half of her said. The other half.. The other half was undecided. She frowned, and thought she'd decide later.

Five thirty.

She left.

"The best part was most definitely the part where he introduced her to the "Swedish" people. I laughed so hard when she slapped him..." Varon said between french fries.

Mai nodded, sipping at her strawberry milkshake.

"I rather liked the tango dancing scene," she commented before popping a chicken McNugget into her mouth.

"Oh, where she got him in the face with the fan? Priceless," the brunette agreed heartily, then took a huge mouthful of his Double Quarter Pounder. With cheese, of course.

Mai snickered. He'd gotten ketchup all over his face. She ate a fry.

McDonald's. Not the best food, or romantic in any way whatsoever. But, the food was hot, it was pretty good, and it was cheap. A little fattening, yes, but delightfully comforting. Comfort is always better than calories, as long as you don't let yourself go.

Mai dabbed mustard off of her chin. She'd felt it. However, Varon still seemed completely unaware that practically half of his face was covered in ketchup. A little boy walked by, laughing loudly.

Varon glanced at the kid. "Wonder what he's laughing at?" he said, looking confused. The kid grinned at him knowingly over his shoulder, laughing as he walked into a trashcan. Varon tittered at the kid's distracted accident.

"Your face." Mai said, and chewed up a couple fries.

Varon looked at her. "Huh?"

"Your face," she repeated, "The kid. He was laughing at your face."

Varon gave her a faux dirty look. "Psh, what do you mean? My face is gorgeous! Best in town!" He struck a pose.

She giggled. "Seriously. Half of your face...It looks like you killed someone." The blond fished a make-up mirror from her purse, and showed him.

"Hey!" hey said, grabbing a handful of napkins, "Why didn't you tell me I was covered in meat juice?"

She laughed, her mind settling back into an old comfort of dirty jokes.

Varon smiled boyishly as he cleaned off his face, enjoying her amusement.

Mai peeked around a rack of magazines, grinning.

Varon opened the freezer door, looking at frozen corn and mixed vegetables.

They were playing hide-and-go-seek. In WalMart.

Turning around the corner, Varon casually walked away from the corn, to a clothing isle. Mai watched him disappear behind a towering wall of men's underwear. She came out from behind the rack, and started forward. Suddenly, two arms grabbed her from the side.

"Dack!" she exclaimed, rather loudly, and whipped her head to the side. Her braid whapped Varon in the side of the head, and he winced.

"Got..you," he said, slightly breathless. He'd ran from behind the underwear, to the women's section, hooked around the books rack, to the magazines, and seen her from a side-aisle.

She apologized for whipping his head.

Mai smiled, around a cone of ice cream. She'd definitely have to hit some overtime at the gym for tonight's indulgences. Popcorn, McDonald's, and now ice cream? Yup. Gym time.

Varon had paid for the movie tickets and popcorn, they'd gone dutch at Mickey D's, and she'd caught the ice cream tab before the man could object.

"I had a good time tonight," he commented, biting into rainbow-colored ice cream. Superman Sherbet is not just for kids.

Mai nodded in agreement. "It was fun, hanging out like this."

Varon smiled, lips purple, teeth bluish. "We should do it again. Sometime. You know?"

"Mm." she agreed, biting into her waffled cone.

You read it, and I hope you enjoyed it, despite the lateness. :] Thanks. n_n


	7. Chapter 7

Sorry for the delay. Mom forgot to pay the power bill, then I got bedridden ill for a few days.

RER.

* * *

Wind whipped through the car, making it sound like a rocket as it hurtled down the highway. Arcadian bobbed his head up and down with the music, his eyes closed as fur ruffled around him, and the wind stung his eyes. Mai sang along loudly [badly] with the CD she had blasting, enjoying the wind as it made her bangs fly crazily in every which direction, a long braid holding the rest in place.

This morning, Kujaki Mai had woken up a couple of hours early. She'd checked her webpages, and reluctantly added friends from Domino City and those she'd met at Duel Kingdom. Since she'd added Anzu and Honda, Jounouchi, and Varon, most of the users had some access to her profile, anyways. She'd had a light, filling breakfast – two blueberry pancakes from a mix she'd gotten at a token "country store", a glass of cranberry juice, and a cup of grapes and almonds. She'd met the paperboy and given him his weekly fee, plus about ten dollars. Then, she went back to her computer to check her e-mail.

Miaki had e-mailed her about this place, way off in the backroads of Sajiima, that sold fresh farmer's market goods. Being her own personal chef, and a lover of healthy, fresh, home-grown goods, she decided to check the place out. Plus, it kept farmers afloat, and kept up jobs that were being lost by the gross over purchasing of store bought goods. Also, her fridge was looking a bit empty. Arcadian came along because Mai didn't feel she'd been spending as much time with him lately, and it made her feel bad. Arcadian had been there for her through some tough times. He should get some love, too...

---

And now, the two were speeding down an old country highway, scenery that would look nice in a romance film or on a calendar, whizzing by them before either could really analyze the imagery.

---

"And we have fresh leeks, and shrimp, and corn, and potatoes, oh! And sweet potatoes! And radishes, and..." the elderly woman was kind, but a bit too chatty for Mai. Arcadian growled at a cat that was wiling its way around a middle-aged woman in faded blue jeans' legs, probably pining for some of the shrimp laid out on her display.

Mai yanked the leash towards herself, and looked her black dog in the eye. A firm "No," and he stood by her side obediently until the old woman had stopped talking. But then she started again.

"..And most of these folks tell you to pay what you think their product is worth, but some, like the jewelry booths and all..."

Mai eyed a stand of juicy, ripe peaches.

"...You know, this market has gotten more and more publicity..."

Fresh, homegrown heads of lettuce and carrots and various vegetables were lined up in a row of booths. That line plus some of the small shrimps a farmer was trying to sell would be good in a salad...

"..And if you need anything else, just come right up to me over there, in that watermelon booth, okay, dearie?" The woman said, clasping her hands together, a pleased smile on her face.

"Yes, ma'am..Thank you very much for the pointers," Mai said sincerely, though she hadn't paid that much attention.

The woman smiled, satisfied, and waddled back to her booth. Mai decided to take a look around.

Arcadian padded obediently by her side, ensuring himself that soon, his treat would come. Mai had been given a roughly textured bag with a fine, faux leathery inside to shop with. Within half an hour, it was beginning to swell with product. A head of sweet lettuce, a bunch of carrots, two red onions, a 2-lb bag of plump freshwater shrimp, a 1-lb sack of 'popcorn' shrimp [uncooked, of course], three small radishes, and thick, branching bunch of celery. Currently, she was examining a rich, homegrown mushroom package. The woman selling them seemed as though she might harvest other types of mushrooms, on the side.

Arcadian whined, and trotted in a circle. Mai took the hint, and led the dog to the outtake on the side of the market, then let him squat behind the bushes. While she was doing so, she looked towards the fruits section of the market. She thought of all the things that she could do with fresh fruit and berries, including preserves and freezing some berries...Mm..

The black dog came from behind the bushes, and trotted in front of his blond owner quickly, attempting to leave as soon as possible. He was a little odd sometimes, her baby was.

Mai made a beeline for the fruits, once Arcadian had gotten over his public indecency. Or, that was how it was seen by Arcadian, as he thought about chasing cats in his dog mind. The bag would have burst if it had been plastic – besides the veggies, Mai had managed a bunch of grapes, four apples, three tomatoes, six plump peaches, ten kumquats, five kiwis, two apricots, and a bunch of bananas. The sack was bulging, but she was extremely pleased. The produce was fresh. She'd have to invite some friends over or something and give them a shebang. Miaki, for sure...Thank the Lord for her, telling Mai about this wonderful place..

The blond transferred the goods to her car, into a cooler in the trunk she'd brought specifically for that purpose. She was returning the sack when she realized she'd forgotten the berries. She strolled smoothly to the side where they were located. She bought a sizable boxload of berries – gooseberries, blackberries, strawberries, mayberries, blueberries, raspberries, cranberries... When she set the box of delights in her trunk, she stopped to think about how authentic the place might be. She looked over her shoulder. The elderly greeting woman waved a goodbye. Not all of these foods were in season..Ah, whatever. They looked awesome enough.

Shrugging it off, she opened the passenger door, and Arcadian jumped in. She closed the door, and walked to her own side of the vehicle. Slid in.

The drive back home was just as pleasant as the ride in, especially since the blond kept reaching back for a berry between off-tone singalongs.

She carried her things in, and put them away. Arcadian bounded into the backyard through his dog door. She looked in the fridge. She still needed some things – milk, eggs, cheese, bread... Maybe yogurt. She'd get some.

…

Later. Now, after the.. She looked at the clock. 4:30 PM. Now, after the five-hour trip, she wanted to chill out. Just a slight nap.

---

Mai woke up to someone licking her face.

"Mm?" she asked, touching her cheek. Arcadian licked her fingers.

"Oh, fine.." she mumbled, "I'm up." The blond stroked her dog's thick, soft black fur. He panted.

The woman looked at the clock. 7:00 PM. She had been a little worn out, she guessed. Too little sleep last night, probably. She stood up and stretched, and made herself and Arcadian some dinner. She settled for a poptart, and he had Kibbles'n'Bits, and some eau d'toilet, probably, earlier. She poured a little water into his bowl, anyways.

After about an hour or two of playing a crossword game on the internet and commenting her new MySpace friends, she hit the sack. As she started drifting off into the land of beta-wave sleep, she vacantly wondered about the suddenness of...kind of getting back into the dating scene. And her quickly withering ovaries. And her lately tired-ness. And rollercoaster of good and bad luck. And people. Her friends, mostly. How they seemed to be seeping back into her life, and how their lives had turned out thus far.

Anzu and Honda, and their four kids. Yuugi and Rebecca, and Yuugi's two children. Jounouchi and Varon. Two flings, two friends. They seemed close. She hadn't run into anyone else, but...With the way things were going, she wouldn't be surprised if Yami attacked her at the supermarket tomorrow, or if Ryou Bakura showed up on her doorstep with a basket of Easter eggs.... Hm...Easter eggs...

At that thought, bunnies started hopping around in her head, and she dreamt.

---

Short because.


	8. Chapter 8

RER.

* * *

The mirror squeaked as the 28-going-on-29 year old blond wiped off the condensation. Her face was pinkish, clean and mostly blemish-free. Her wet hair looked brown instead of blond. A towel was wrapped around her torso. She began to blow-dry her hair. She got almost entirely done before an interruption occurred.

Over the whirring of the fan, she heard her phone ring. She turned off the blow dryer, and stepped into her bedroom to get her cell.

"...D-d-don'tcha wish ya girlfriend was a _freak_ like me?" it was singing to the world. She picked it up and flipped it open.

"Hi, Miaki. How are you?" the blond asked, walking over to her dresser. She pulled out some undergarments and slid them on.

"Pretty good," Miaki said lowly, "Yourself?"

"Doing well. I went to that farmer's market the day before yesterday. It was really nice, thanks for the recommendation." The blond pulled on some mid-calf black leggings.

There was a creak over the phone, and a hesitant pause.

"I'm glad you liked it," Miaki whispered.

"Leaving before he wakes up?" Mai guessed, pulling out a nice, gray dress from her closet. She slipped the cottony, simple dress over her head, listening as Miaki explained her situation.

"I figured as much..." Mai commented indifferently, plucking a plain, slightly wide black belt from a selection and putting it in the loops in the center of the dress. "Need a place to stay for a few?"

"If you don't mind..." Mai heard a door shut. She went back into the bathroom and put on some nude makeup.

"Yeah, it's all good. I'll give you a lift after work. I'll make dinner tonight, if you bring a bottle of wine from your house. And some of that killer monkey bread you make."

A sight of relief. "No prob, Mai. Thanks, really... You know where I live.. I'll see you after work."

Mai smiled. Miaki was so much like her younger self. "Sure. I'll see you later."

Click. Miaki hung up.

Clap. Mai's phone flipped shut.

The office was hectic. For some reason or another, seven people had called in sick, and Mukuro and Mai had to do about half of all the slackers' work, on top of their own. Blegh.

Luck enough for them, though, they were informed that they'd be paid double overtime for their work and dedication, plus, Eilene gave the women an extra hour on their lunch break. The pair decided to splurge a little, and went to a nice sit-down Afghan-style restaurant instead, and shared a rather large order of qabli pulao. It was absolutely delightful.

"Why do you think so many people called out?" Mai asked, then ate a forkful of her rice. The way the rice was cooked in these Eastern restaurants was, to be frank, awesome. Instead of the rice sticking together, it was boiled, then baked in some special... Marination wasn't the right word, but it would suffice. The rice grains were separate and fluffy.

Mukuro thoughtfully chewed the bite of lamb she was eating. After swallowing, she replied. "Well, Kiki's daycare was recently closed because of a flu outbreak. Maybe it spread to this side of town?" She scooped up a spoonful of rice, chopped raisins, and carrots. The flavor was quixotic... Unusual, and very delightful. She wasn't used to the rich flavor of this kind of rice.

Mai nodded, stabbing a piece of lamb. She ate it.

"Hm... Seems likely." She commented, and most of the rest of their meal was silent.

Mukuro climbed delicately into Mai's car, careful not to rumple her pleated black skirt, or accidentally slide her pink blouse across the side of Mai's car. Some of the dust from Mai's road trip yesterday clung to the side.

Mai slid in, and turned on the radio. Soft pop music from a family-friendly radio station filled the car. As she pulled out of the lot, Mai hear Mukuro humming. She smiled, knowing that a few years ago, the woman wouldn't have even said anything to anyone, or climbed into a car with someone who wasn't her husband – now her ex-husband, but the point was clear. Mai wasn't really sure why Mukuro was so timid, but she knew the slight woman didn't like to go out, and had even less gone out a few years ago. Every time they went outside, her hands were clenched, and her face would whiten. She looked at the ground when she walked.

Mai wasn't a psychologist, nor did she have any specialized training in the field, but she assumed that once, Mukuro had a rather severe form of agoraphobia. Mai'd noticed the days Mukuro looked less tense – she thought that it might be the days after appointments with a therapist. Twice a week. Mai had often contemplated Mukuro's problems, and took them to heart. She was a good person, and she did care quite deeply for her friends.

Mukuro hummed and looked at her hands, folded in her lap.

Mai drove.

"D-d-don't cha wish ya girlfriend was hot like me...Don't cha wish ya girlfriend was a freak. Like. Me. Don-"

Mai picked up the phone. "Hey, Miaki." The blond picked up a gallon of milk and put it in her cart, next to the cheese and eggs.

"Hey, Mai! Sup? Still comin' by?"

"Yeah. Just grabbing some things at the store... Say, do you think... No. Not asking if we need it, 'cause we do. Rocky Road or Caramel Turtle?"

Miaki laughed. "Um... Caramel Turtle. Sounds good, I'll bring the chocolate sauce and some hardening caramel."

Mai plunked the ice cream into the cart, and maneuvered her way into a short aisle.

"So, was it him, or was it you?"

"Him. Well. Me. But it was just because...He sucked. At everything."

"Oh," Mai set her things on the conveyor belt.

"Romancing a girl, dancing, no talent, uninteresting, sex... He sucked at all of it. I kept thinking maybe he'd be good at something, just anything, but... Nothing. Nothing at all."

"Hm..." the blond paid for her groceries, and started for the exit.

"So, it was you, but it was him? How entertaining.." Mai said. Bags rustled as she set them in her trunk.

"Yeah, well, you know, I'm picky. Deal."

"Eh, I'm not complaining, you give me an excuse to splurge and get fat."

"You'll never be fat. You go to the gym too much."

"Mm. Thanks."

Mai put the cart up, and got into the car.

"Well, I'm on my way over there. Be ready."

"Kay. See you in a few."

The women sang along – Mai badly, Miaki fairly decently – to a burned CD of various music. Miaki had already downed a couple glasses of her wine, and she laughed all the way to Mai's house.

"You suck so bad..." she said, as a piano solo blared.

Mai laughed, and pulled onto her driveway.

"So..Where were you last night? Leaving so covertly in the morning.. Naughty naughty.." Mai said, over a forkful of spaghetti.

"You know that blond American guy who came to make a deal with the Prez?" Miaki asked, soaking a piece of lightly seasoned bread in a small bowl of olive oil.

"Oh, yeah... Uh.. Chris or something?"

"Yeah..."

"You slept with him?"

"...Yeah..."

Mai threw a chunk of bread stick at her. "Why'd you do that, you goose?"

Miaki shrugged, wiping off the slight residue the food had made on her forehead. "I don't really know. We went out for a drink, and one thing led to another...So..."

Mai sighed. "Child... What am I going to do with you?"

"Does it really matter? He totally failed at everything, anyways... His choice in drinks..An appletini? Seriously? His foreplay, his performance, his randomly wanting to spoon, his incessant chatter... I thought American men were supposed to be.. I dunno.. Cooler?"

Mai shrugged, commenting that she'd never slept with an American, and didn't care to.

The women ate in silence for about a tenth of a second, before discussing various other aspects of Miaki's strangely comfortable nymphomaniacal lifestyle, comparing to Mai's obvious celibacy of the last five years.

Mai was sure that she was fine, just perfectly peachy, even with the celibacy. The first year had been hard, but... Miaki thought Mai was absolutely insane, and could not understand why anyone would do that. Celibacy? No, no, no... This...At least once a month, or maybe even once every two months? No. Mai just let Miaki's criticism roll off her shoulders, like water off of a duck's back.

After dinner, the women sat in the living room with half-pints of gourmet ice cream, eating them slowly as they watched a variety of movies – Hitch, 50 First Dates, Aeon Flux, Nana, Asylum...

Eventually, around 6 in the morning, Mai shut off the TV, and she and Miaki went to her bedroom and passed out on the sheets.

Ladies' night... For the win.

Omnomonom ice cream. Food is..nummy...

Thanks again to you guys who have reviewed – you are totally, totally awesome. And thanks to Molly, who added me on MySpace after reading and reviewing..? Haha. It was randomly awesome. As another note... I must add this.. I just got my job back [last week..], so I'll be working 40+ hours a week, besides the 30 hours a week of school. Therefore... This story is going to be updated less often, though I'll try for a biweekly deadline, so to type. :] Have a good one.


	9. Chapter 9

Thanks again to my awesome reviewers, especially , who gives me lots of tips and advices I'mma try, at the very least, to act on. Sometimes, as you guys have noticed, most likely..I get a little [lot] carried away with descriptions... It's just my...Inner banana wants to share my "mind television" with you, so.. It gets a little whoo-hoo sometimes. :] I'll try to lighten up. Although, with my attention span, I will probably fail miserably. D=

* * *

Mai rolled over, and faced Miaki, who was still snoring lightly. The blond eased out of bed quietly, as to not wake her friend, and tiptoed into the hallway, towards the kitchen. It was Saturday, her day off. Yesterday, she'd cashed her paycheck, and deposited half - $500 – into her checking account. She liked her nicely-paying job. By her late forties to early fifties, the account – plus her savings account, to which she monthly deposited $200 – she would have plenty to last her for... Ever, practically. Plus the retirement package Okama presented? Yes. Mai liked her comfortable financial status.

The blond opened the fridge, and grabbed the milk. She poured a glass, and sipped at it as she thought about what she was going to do today. Laze? Shop? Eh. She'd figure something out, and she was sure that Miaki would have some input.

Arcadian padded up to her, yawning. He made a high, "reawr" as he did so. Mai poured some dry dog food in his bowl, and broke a raw egg over it, mixing it into the food. The occasional egg made his coat glossy and smooth. The woman turned on the faucet, and water rushed into her pup's water bowl.

Mai fixed herself – and Miaki – a good, balanced breakfast. She cut two peaches into halves, removing the pits. She plunked the halves into a bowl, along with some apricots, grapes, one sliced banana, and an apple. She separated the mix into two bowls. There was about one cup of fruit per bowl. She fried two eggs for each of them, and two made two pieces of toast, and fried two thick slices of ham. Coffee brewed, and Mai pulled a bottle of French vanilla cream from the fridge. She poured a little into two coffee mugs next to the plates, and then filled each cup with steaming coffee.

Miaki walked in, rubbing sleep from her eyes. Her pink, Snoopy-print pajama pants sagged, and her blue cami's straps has slid nearly to her elbows. She yawned, and stretched.

"I smelled coffee," she said, her voice lower than normal, softer, perhaps, "And I was like, mm, and – Whoa! What brought on the motherly feasting?"

"Motherly? I just wanted food..A lot of food. We totally owned the gym yesterday... I'm sore, and I'm hungry, and.. Get the silverware?"

"Sure.. This looks totally bangin', Mai.. I think I might have to move in with you if you keep showing off," the short-haired woman joked. She said that every time she stayed.

"Eh, I like to cook," the blond replied, buttering her slice of toast. She bit into it. Mm... Melty, warm, crispy – but not too crispy – toast. Toast..Ah, the delightfulness of toast. Toast, toast, toast... Nomnomnom.

* * *

* * *

After a filling breakfast, Mai called Anzu. She was taking the kids to the park, all four of them, and asked Mai if she'd like to join. After a quick consultation with Miaki, Mai agreed to meet them at the local park, with picnic-y amenities, around four, in six hours. Mai and Miaki were to bring Oreos and soft drinks. Anzu was bringing egg sandwiches and celery sticks.

With a lot of spare time to kill, Miaki and Mai dawdled on the computer for about an hour, answering messages on their webpages, browsing YouTube for laughs, and taking random, cheesy quizzes. Then, they got all nice-ied up, showering, make-upping, dressing, and so on and so forth, as a lady does. They decided to hit the mall before meeting Anzu.

Mai grabbed the keys to her car, and the women headed out.

"So, what's this..Anzu... Like?" Miaki inquired, as Mai pulled out of the drive.

Mai hesitated. "Well, she's really bouncy. She's got a really happy, optimistic personality... And she's very fashionable. She's got a good taste in guys, too."

"Married?"

"Yep."

"Hm. What's she look like?"

Mai stopped at a red light.

"Well, she's got long, straight, pretty brown hair. She had it in a ponytail the last time I saw her. Her eyes are a really, really nice shade of blue. Probably some of the prettiest eyes in Japan, if you ask me. She's shapely, and she's gotten a little plumper over the years, but I attribute this to three pregnancies. She's still pretty sexy, though." Mai paused. "And she's got a clean, blemish-free face.. A straight, strong nose.. A small, pretty mouth, and a stub of a chin. Her children got that from her, and they're all adorable.."

"I see. She has four kids, but you only said three pregnancies. Math, much?"

"She has a set of twins," Mai replied off-handedly, making a left turn, "And she only has three kids, with two pregnancies."

"Oh. Ooh, the hippy store is having a sale today," Miaki said, reading a large poster on a window, as Mai looked for a parking spot.

"Really? Maybe we can get one of those..spinny thingies for my porch."

Miaki thought. "Oh, you mean the...The.. Uh, the metally thing, and all the insides are 3-d and when it spins it looks all..cool and stuff?"

"Yeah. They had a green butterfly one I wanted, but I got a really cute plaid skirt from Hot Topic instead."

"Really? Nifty. I though you weren't into that goth stuff? You seem kind of...preppy..?"

Mai rolled her eyes. "I don't care what people say, Hot Topic is not...Goth. They have shirts with funny sayings, Pok'emon merchandise, Hello Kitty, Invader Zim... Plus, cute lingerie and bright skirts. It's just a store, like any other, but with cuter over-priced things, and a louder, darker atmosphere."

"Hm."

Mai parked, two hundred yards away from the opening. There was nothing closer. The pair walked, chatting pleasantly as the warm sun shone down on them.

"So, I heard you were out with another guy this week..A foreigner.." Miaki absently commented, holding up a green baby doll spring dress. She held it up to herself, and put it on the rack. She pulled a blue one out.

Mai looked up from the jeans she had been scrutinizing, looking for her size. There were never Eight-talls in the mall...

"How'd you hear that? Been spying on me?"

Miaki glanced at some skirts on a nearby rack. "Oh, you know it. I'm stalking you..Because I really want to bang you. No, I was out with Kiandre, as usual.. We walked right by you in the theater! I'd have stopped you to chat, but my stupid man covered up my mouth!"

"With what? His mouth?" Mai sarcastically retorted, grabbing a pair of jeans from the pile. She held them up to her waist.

"The pattern on these jeans.. I like it. Very fetching."

Miaki glanced at them briefly.

"Cute. What's the price tag say? This skirt is bangin'... I'm going to get one, they're only twenty bucks. Hm.. With those black heels I bought last week and that pink tube top... Hm.. We should go clubbing tonight," Miaki said, suddenly looking up.

"Uh.. Random, but..It sounds kind of fun. I haven't done that in a while," Mai said ponderously, "That's not a bad price, that skirt is totally... Gangster, as you kids say. These are..thirty five bucks. I think I can do that."

"Hm, not bad at all. But we need something way cuter than those for tonight. Let's go look in that..dress section, over there. The 'actual' dress section."

"I'm getting these, regardless," Mai said, following the younger woman, carrying the jeans.

Silky, cool fabric felt soft and welcoming under her fingers. Mai snagged a purple and blue dress from a rack.

"What about this one?"

"No, no.. Hm.." Miaki plucked a black-and white dress with wild lines on it from the rack. She put it back, and grabbed a pink, black, and white one with a similar pattern.

"I like this one." She said, and draped it over Mai's shoulder. She grabbed another with a blue, green, and brown amoeba pattern, and gave it to Mai as well.

"Try them on," she commanded, more than suggested.

Mai obliged.

"I like the pink one. It's lower cut and it shows off your totally bangin' cleavage." Miaki said, snapping the brown and blue dress from Mai.

"Uh..." Mai drawled, and awkwardly looked to the side. "Okay... but... Let's get some hose."

Miaki blinked.

"Seriously?"

"Yeah.."

"..."

* * *

Mai carried a plastic sack with Oreos and peach soda in it. Miaki carried a six-pack of Coke.

Across the park, Mai spotted Anzu helping Suro get into a swing next to Mori. Mizuru was climbing a tire-rope bridge.

"Anzu! Hey!" Mai yelled, walking briskly towards her friend.

Anzu's head whipped up, surprised. "Oh, Hey! Mai! How's it going?"

"Pretty well.. I'd like you to meet my friend, Miaki. She's staying with me for a while."

Miaki waved. "Hi, how are you?"

"Awesome... Having a great time with the kids. We're going to eat in about thirty minutes... Wanna set that stuff over with our things, in the shade under that cherry tree?"

"Sure, works for us," Miaki said, and she started for the tree.

Mai wiggled her fingers at Mori and gave him a push on his swing. He giggled happily.

"I'll go set this down... I'll be right back, okay?"

"Mhm." Anzu pushed Suro, and then Mori, alternating between them equally.

* * *

Mai brushed her teeth vicariously. After a good lunch of salted egg sandwiches, celery filled with peanut butter or cream cheese, Oreos and soda pop, Mai and Miaki had played with the kids and made light-hearted chat with Anzu. They left around five thirty. At six, they started primping, so they could go to one of the clubs downtown.

Mai wore a pair of black leggings, the pink-and-black-and-white dress, and pink high heels that very closely matched the pink in her dress. She had pulled her blond hair into a messy updo, piling it atop her head, tendrils falling and framing her delicate, heart-shaped face. Miaki had done her make-up – smoky eyeshadow, slightly thicker-than-average eyeliner, mascara, and a tinge of pink lip gloss.

Miaki was decked out in her punk-rock style clothes – a black miniskirt with green-threaded pockets and a green lacy hemline, a tight, black tee with four diagonal rips in it, across the chest. A green cami was underneath, matching nearly precisely the green thread in her dress. Black fishnet stockings with holes sewn into them, height-improving black, spiky heels, and temporary green highlights topped off her chic punky appearance.

"You look like you...Were...Attacked or something.." Mai said thoughtfully, applying heavy eyeliner to her friend's eyes.

"Eh. You look like a Barbie," Miaki retorted, her eyelids fluttering as Mai released them, the eyeliner done. The blond grabbed the green eyeshadow, and started layering it.

"Maybe..A werewolf got you.."

"Shish."

"Meh. Which club are we going to?"

"Whichever one looks the most..bangin'."

"You say that a lot as of late.."

"What? Bangin'?"

"Yeah."

"Oh. It's just the word of the week, I guess."

"Mm."

* * *

"Give me a Lava Flow," Mai practically had to yell over the thud of the music.

The barkeep nodded and fixed the drink expertly and quickly. In less than a minute and a half, the drink was in front of her, primely prepared. She sipped. Perfect.

Miaki was downing a shot of..Something.

They talked, for about ten minutes as they drank. Miaki got a Cosmo after the shot, and she and Mai finished in very close time.

"Let's go dance!" Miaki said loudly, grabbing Mai's wrist.

"Sounds good to me!"

People were crammed all around her, dancing wildly and in tune with the beat. The crowd was not a lot of people flailing and moving, it seemed, it was one being, one organism, that fluctuated with its surroundings. The music shifted, the crowd shifted. The beating hearts, the wild yells and grinding bodies seemed to be one. Mai felt like an outsider, however, and unwanted virus in a cell. She couldn't breathe in the thick atmosphere, couldn't stay with the beat, couldn't flow like the rest of these people. She slipped away, towards a shady booth. She didn't look before she sat down. Looking at the crowd, the lights, the lasers, the smoke...She sighed. When she was younger, this would have been perfect. Wonderful. The heat of pheromones colliding in the air, the passionate lust between bodies, the excitement, the bass shaking her heart.. But now, nothing. Rather, not as much. She still felt the excitement, but the adrenaline rush had passed quickly. Now, she just wanted a seat and a drink. Maybe she was getting old. She held a mere fascination with the people around her.

"Can I help you?" a cool voice stabbed through her hearing like an icy dagger.

Mai turned around slowly.

"Eh.. Hi. Sorry, I didn't see you when I sat down.." Mai said loudly, apologetically.

The figure was mostly shadowed, but the owner's cold blue eyes shone menacingly in a well-placed, faint beam of light.

"Hm." The man said nothing else, and sipped his drink.

Mai turned around, and watched the crowd.

Moments later, the man slid around the booth, and Mai recognized him as Seto Kaiba. She didn't say anything to him.

The brunette slipped on a pair of shades, looking awkward in them in the dim atmosphere. She glanced down at her, a slim frown on his face. The blond stared back.

Before he left, he handed her a business card. He briskly walked away.

On the back of the card, he'd written his personal cell phone number. Mai knew that, only because the number matched non of the six numbers on the front, and because of the 319 combination in the second set of numbers. She stuck the card in her bra, then stood.

Making a beeline for the bar, she decided she would have a few drinks, dance a little more, and just mellow out in the thunderous music. Try to unwind, anyhow – she didn't know if she actually could.

Before she sat down, the barkeep set down an orange-ish, fruity-looking drink. "Compliments of that feller." he muttered, jerking his head to the other end of the bar. Mai glanced.

It was Hatsumi, grinning at her and waving.

The blond woman smiled and waved back. Maybe tonight wouldn't end so badly as she thought it may've.


	10. Chapter 10

D: I'm starting to lose interest in my own story. Ha.

* * *

Mai rolled over, to get to the cool side of the pillow. Her hair stopped her, however – it was stuck under Miaki's back, she figured. She tugged it loose, and snuggled up to the warm figure next to her. Her deep purple eyes closed, and she sighed.

They snapped open again after she realized there were three people in her bed, not two. She scrambled out of the bed after also realizing that it wasn't _her_ bed. Fell onto her bare bottom on the floor when she realized neither of the figures were Miaki, and almost screamed when she realized she was as naked as a jaybird.

"Wha..Wha wha..." she started, head whipping around frantically as she looked for her clothes. One of the figures rolled over, making a loud, "Mmph."

Mai couldn't find her clothes to save her life, but found a familiar-smelling tee and a pair of jeans that would work. She found a bathroom.

"Agh..." she muttered, looking into the mess. "Like a bunch of teenage boys living here," she muttered, kicking aside some shirts. The blond sat down on the toilet. The bright bathroom light stung her eyes.

"Mmmh.. How did I.. Ermgh, I remember nothing after meeting what's-his face.." she said, dolefully. She bet he tossed something in her drink, but she couldn't remember.

Sighing, the tall woman checked her skin for cuts, bruises, anything. Not a thing. Then, she embarrassedly checked herself, and surprisingly, found no obvious signs of any activity she might regret in nine months. Slightly relieved, she pulled on the borrowed clothes. She'd go to the local hospital and get an actual test later – better safe than sorry.

She put her hand on the counter o balance herself while pulling on the first jean leg. Her balance was bad this morning... What a night.. However, finding it in something gooey and unfamiliar, the hand was yanked up quickly, from surprise, and she fell on her bottom.

Grimacing in pain and biting her lip to avoid yelling out, she pulled on the jeans on the floor, gross as it was. They were a little tight in the back, but were acceptable until further notice. She just had to find out where she was, call a cab or something, and get the banana boat _out of here_.

'_There should be a phone here... Wait, my purse! Maybe I brought it here...'_

She got out of the grungy restroom and started back to the room from which she came, scouring for her purse. It wasn't in the hallway leading to the room. She frowned, not wanting to go back in there. What if whoever they were were complete douches? The blond fiddled with the hem of the blue tee. It smelled like Axe. The house was messy, like little boys were living here, not men. Taking that into account, she resumed it would be OK, so long as she didn't wake them.

The door creaked slightly as she opened the door. Funny, she didn't remember shutting it. She swept around the room with a glance, quickly. She spotted what might have been her pantyhose, but didn't mind them at the moment. She looked for her little purse. Not immediately seeing it, she stepped into the room, tiptoeing.

_'Augh... Never thought I'd be in a Miaki-type situation. Well. Never thought I'd be in one __**again**_**.**_'_

One of her heels was broken, she noted, as she stepped over it. That kind of irked her – those were really cute shoes... She stepped on something sharp, and, surprised, was unable to hold back a yell. She tripped and fell on her hands and knees, making a loud "Tha-dunk!" on the carpeted floor. She winced, mewling at the pain and [later] rug-burn.

One of the sleeping figures rolled over at the sound, or tried to, and fell out of the bed with a loud thud.

"Whuh?"

Mai whipped her head around. That voice was familiar. At first, the black-haired man's body did not compute. Then, honeyed-amber eyes opened, meeting her own heavy violet-tinted blue ones, and she could have screamed. For the sake of the other sleeping person, however, she didn't.

"Jounouchi!" she whispered, strongly and loudly, "What the hell?"

The black-haired man blinked, and sat up, rubbing his head. "Uh..It looks a lot worse than it is, Mai..." He said, drowsily.

Mai slitted her eyes at him. He didn't look hungover- just tired. And he was wearing a snug wife beater and black basketball shorts. She saw the hem of his boxers. She averted her glance from him, looking for her purse.

"Look, there was this jerkface...And," the man yawned, stretching. "Mmh.... Let me fix you a cup of coffee, okay, and some breakfast."

The blond woman looked at him. She felt a pang of hunger in her stomach, and the need to go to the bathroom.

Hesitantly, she said fine, she'd stay for a while, so long as she got her clothes, purse, and an explanation. A shower would be nice, too.

Jounouchi let her use his side of the apartment. It was cleaner, at the moment, because his sister had stayed over recently. While Mai was in the shower, he fixed a quick, simple breakfast – eggs, a few slices of bacon, toast. He set out a plate for his friend, for himself, and then a plate for Varon, on the hotplate on the stove. He poured her a cup of coffee, medium-heavy cream and light sugar. He poured himself a cup, light cream, medium-heavy sugar. He also set out a short crystal-glass of orange juice. He'd heard it was good for scurvy, and knew it helped a little with his own hangovers. Mm, Vitamin C.

Mai walked in, as he was buttering a piece of toast.

She'd tied her hair back. Apparently, Serenity had left a few ponytail-holders here. It looked like she had brown hair, since it was wet, and she had water droplets on the tee she was wearing.

"Is that my shirt?" he asked.

"Uh..." Mai started. She had no idea. "I found it on the floor."

The black-haired man rolled his eyes and ran a hand through his hair. Mai saw that his original blond color was shoeing pretty strongly at the roots.

"You need to re-dye your hair, or style it to where those roots look fashionable," she said, sitting down.

"Uh-huh," the taller one said, handing her a cup of coffee. She took it, thanking him.

"So, last night.." she said, taking a sip. Her eyes opened. "Oh! You remember how I like my coffee.."

He shrugged. "Yeah... I made it for you like, every time we hung out. I guess... It stuck."

"We only hung out a few.. Oh, whatever. Thanks," Mai said, still surprised.

Jounouchi put his egg and two slices of bacon on his toast, then topped it with another piece of toast.

"Breakfast sandwich..Mm.." he said, taking a big bite. He chewed. "Ah..That hits the spot.." He took another bite.

Mai ate a few forkfuls. "Hey.." she commented, between a couple dainty bites, "You're not a bad cook, honey."

"Eh. Living with Varon.. You either learn of live on take-out."

She nodded understandingly, and took a sip of orange juice.

"So... What happened, now that we're more awake? And do you have any ibuprofen I could take..? I'm getting a killer headache..."

"Advil?" he asked, standing up, and crossing over to a cabinet next to the stove.

"Please," she said, rubbing her temple.

He gave her four.

"You're gonna need it. When was the last time you went out, not including last night?" he asked.

"Mm.. Gotta have been...A while." She swallowed the little blue tablets with a swish of orange juice.

"Huh."

They sat in silence for a few minutes, finishing up their breakfast.

"Last night?" she asked, standing up. She set her plate and glass in the sink, and returned to her warm cup of coffee.

"Right, right," Jounouchi said, pushing his plate to the side.

"You were with this real jackass, some guy I saw emptying the trash down at the hospital a few times. He was giving you loads of drinks, or something, 'cause when Varon and I got there, you were like, smashed. Just draped on the perv, half asleep. He was just humping your leg like some dog when we showed up, and you were laughing about something retarded."

Mai cupped her head in her hands, face red from embarrassment.

"Well, anyway, we were all, "Hey! Quit that!" and he was all, "She's my girlfriend!"" Jounouchi gave Hatsumi a high, hillbilly, girly voice, and [presumably,] himself, a deeper, heroic gravelly voice.

"Since he said that, me 'n Varon wandered off. But we kept an eye on you. And when he started to leave with ya, and you were resistin', we followed ya'll outta there," Mai cocked an eyebrow. His accent seemed to show up more when he got into telling this.

"So we pushed through alla tha people, but he was already loadin' ya in some 1970's junk car, and putterin' off. So me 'n Varon hopped on the 'cycle, and followed him. We lost him once, but caught back up. Anyhow, he pulls ya up into his apartment and..."

Jounouchi pounded his fist into his hand.

"He got mosta your clothes still, there, but nothin happened. Me 'n' Var heard ya yell, through the door, and we busted in, all awesome 'n stuff. You still had ya hose n' shoes, but one of 'em was busted.. Varon gave ya his jacket, and we brough' ya here, but not 'for we beat that sucker up some, yeah..."

Jounouchi growled. Mai noticed, then, a few scratches on his arms, and the not-yet-black black eye.

She frowned, feeling bad about her previous assumations.

"Thanks." she said, touching his hand. "I appreciate what you did."

He looked at her, and she saw the anger fading in his eyes. She'd always liked his passionate looks.

"Nah, nah, notta problem. Happens. We jus' wanted to do the right thing."

His speech was going back to the practiced, clearer sort.

"Yo! Bra, you steal my jeans?" an accented, tired voice yelled. A few, spaced thunks, and Varon was in the room, in plaid boxers.

"Oh. Uh. Mai," the brunette said, immediately somewhat embarrassed.

"Hi."

"Thanks," she said, "for last night, I mean."

Varon looked at her, confused. "I didn't go-" He caught, out of the corner of his eye, a wild motion from Jounouchi.

"Eh, it was nothin'. Hey, Jounouchi, you fixed breakfast, sah-weet."

Jounouchi frowned. He didn't want Mai to know he'd been alone last night, on foot. It had seemed more heroic with a motorbike.

------------

:/


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